


Down the Hall to the Left

by Annetagonist



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, found famiy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:22:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21756736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annetagonist/pseuds/Annetagonist
Summary: Dyn had never expected to have a child, at least not anytime soon.Corin expected to keep the same job until he died.They never expected to end up finding each other and bonding over a small child.
Relationships: The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)/Corin (LadyIrina)
Comments: 49
Kudos: 253





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Rescue and Regret](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21648874) by [LadyIrina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyIrina/pseuds/LadyIrina). 



> Corin is an OC created by LadyIrina, who wrote the series "The Mandalorian, his Son and the Storm Trooper". I fell in love with him and mando together, so here we are

When Din Djarin became a social worker, it was too help fellow veterans who had just returned from war, not to look after abandoned children, yet here he was, an infant sleeping soundly in his arms. Din was the only one the child would allow to hold him without screaming, and so he was the one stuck with babysitting. The little boy was the son of a veteran he worked with, trying to help her reassimilate with civilian life. She had been back in the country for a year when the boy was born, naming him Ad’ika, and a year later, he found her in her house, her child screaming from his cot.

It was always hard when one of his clients failed to reassimilate, when the stress and PTSD became too much, but this was the first time he had been left with their child. Usually, if there was a child involved, the veteran had already handed them off to another relative, but Kara didn’t have anyone.

Upon finding the child, Din immediately picked him up in an attempt to sooth him. Upon being settled in the man’s arms, the child instantly calmed down and closed his eyes to sleep. Din slowly walked outside, trying to jostle the baby too much, and called his superiors to report the death, and the child.

When back up came, including EMT’s to take the body, it was quickly discovered that any time the little boy was removed from Din’s arms, he quickly became distressed, meaning Din was required to ride in the ambulance with him, reassuring him when the EMT’s would poke needles into him, checking his health, and trying to determine how long he had been on his own.

When all was said and done, it had only been a few hours he’d been alone, and he still wouldn’t let Din let him go. The man was forced to sit at his desk, child in his arms, trying to work through the necessary paperwork to foster him. Ad’ika was just over a year old, having had his birthday a little over a month ago. The only good he can think of this, is that the boy will hopefully be too young to truly remember what has happened.

Two months later, Din had moved from his small one bedroom flat, to a two-bedroom apartment both closer to work, and near a good childcare. He had filed for adoption and his chances looked good, despite being single, he had a good track record, the worst of his PTSD from the war was in the past, and his army pension, combined with his savings and current wage, meant he had plenty of money to support them both.

Ad’ika seemed to like his new home, though he still hated being far from Din for too long, which made working difficult. Though it was easier than it was to begin with, he was now sleeping in his own room, and slowly over the two months, he was spending more time at the day care every week. Thankfully, Din had a boss that understood his plight of suddenly being a single father.

Corin had had a very stable job as a security guard after he left the army, it was reasonably easy, and he enjoyed the work. This became complicated however, when the company came under investigation and was shortly after closed down due to unsound business practices and multiple instances of law breaking.

Corin didn’t know what to do, he had been at that job for over five years and could no longer use it as a reasonable reference, not if he wanted to maintain credibility. The night he found out was the first time in many years he had decided to drown his sorrows in booze. He had drunk on occasion with friends, but it had been five years since he had drunk alone.

He wasn’t proud of how the night progressed, well, what he could remember of it anyway. He remembered someone banging on the door and opening it to find an extremely handsome man, who proceeded to yell at him about… something. The exact details were fuzzy, and the mans face and voice had been too distracting, but he didn’t see him again that night, so he must have done something right.

Din had been caring for Ad’ika for six months when he first had trouble with his neighbour. They were making a considerable amount of noise for the time of night, and he had just managed to put his son to sleep. Music was thumping, and he seemed to be smashing his own home to pieces.

Din stormed down the hallway, not wanting Ad’ika to be awoken by the noise, knowing that if he was, it would be another three hours trying to get him to settle again. He banged on the door, hoping to be loud enough to be heard over the noise.

When the door opened, he was stunned for a second by the man. Din quickly recovered from his shock to address him, “Do you mind keeping it down, I have an early shift and need to sleep.” Not exactly the truth, but he didn’t want a stranger knowing there was a child in his apartment, could never be too careful, and he had seen too much in his line of work.

His neighbour, who was clearly very drunk, simply nodded before turning back into his apartment, closing the door as he went. Din was confused for a second and was about to bang on the door again when the music abruptly stopped. Satisfied, he returned to his own apartment, relieved to find Ad’ika still sleeping, he decided to sit and watch a movie before bed.


	2. Chapter 2

When Corin felt slightly more human he realised he should try to make it up to his poor neighbour that he disturbed last night with his drunken antics. He was pretty sure he had everything he needed to make a basic soup, so he decided that there was nothing better than a nice hot soup to sooth past hurts.

It took the better part of four hours to make the soup, ensuring it was chocked full of various different vegetables, with a bit of chicken as well. It was almost dinner time by the time he was finished, which was good timing in his opinion.

Corin made his was done the hall and knocked on his neighbour’s door. The man that answered it was even more handsome than in his fuzzy memory.  
He was startled out of his staring when the man sharply snapped, “What do you want?”

“Oh, ah, I just wanted to apologise for last night, it was really out of character for me to drink that much and-“

“Get to the point,” the other man demanded.

Corin held out a container filled with the soup. “Here, I made it as an apology, I’m Corin, by the way, I haven’t seen you around.”

The man took the soup with a nod. “Thank you.”

When Corin hesitated to leave he demanded, “Do you need anything else?”

“Oh, ah no, I guess, not. I guess I’ll see you-” The door was slammed in his face. “Around. Ok, that could have gone a lot better, guess I really got off on his bad side.” Corin turned and returned back to his apartment, still think about his mysterious, but handsome, neighbour.

After closing the door, Din looked down at the soup he had been given. He had been just about to prepare dinner for Ad’ika and himself when the knocking came. Upon answering the door, he quickly recognised his neighbour from last night. The other man was just as handsome as Din remembered, but seemed lost in his own world, staring, but when he started talking, it didn’t seem he would stop anytime soon. Wanting to get the interaction over with as soon as possible before Ad’ika started fussing about the lack of food, Din hurried him along, learning his name in the process.  
He looked at the child sitting in his highchair at the table. “Well, what do you think about soup for tonight, womp rat?”

Din poured a small amount into a child bowl, testing the temperature before putting the bowl and spoon in front of his son. The bowl wasn’t filled much, understanding it will end up everywhere despite his best efforts. He poured himself hi own bowl and sat down near Ad’ika. The pair slowly ate their soup, Ad’ika getting more on himself than in his mouth. Once they were done, Din turned the tv onto some kids shows and let Ad’ika entertain himself while he cleaned the dishes and transferred the rest of the soup into one of his own containers. Once he finished, he cleaned Corin’s container and wrote a note, thanking him for the food.

The following day, Corin had fully recovered from his hangover and was returning from his morning jog when he saw his container sitting in front of his door with a note on it simply saying thank you. He smiled slightly to himself before picking it up and opening his door and entering his apartment.

Corin showered quickly to prepare for his day. He was going to visit the VA. His lapse after losing his job had created more difficulties for himself, and he knew that not having the distraction of work was going to create problems. The VA had helped him when he first returned, and was hoping it would do so now.

Din was stuck on reception for the day due to the usual person calling in sick. In some ways it was good, he was able to have Ad’ika with him, playing with some toys behind the desk. Mostly it was just annoying, he was meant to be a social worker, helping veterans return to life as a civilian. But working the reception desk was mostly fielding the thousand questions family members had. It was the same questions over and over again; why does my husband still wake up screaming? Why doesn’t my son like going to the mall? Why did my wife go all crazy when I set off fireworks? The constant why’s, it was frustrating, and at times felt like the relatives weren’t even trying.

Din was attempting to get Ad’ika to let go of a pencil cup he was trying to shove into his mouth when someone walked in. He was able to get the pencil cup away from his son before he straightened to address the man before him. Upon looking up, he was taken a back at the site of his neighbour, Corin, who looked as equally shocked to see Din himself.

“Sorry, can I help you?” He said.

It seemed to take a second for Corin to come back to his senses. “Yes, sorry, I just lost my job and I need help. It’s been awhile since I’ve been here though.”

“So, you’re a vet then? Do you need help with anything else then?”

“Yes, that’s right, um… I don’t think so, I’ll let you know?”

“Of course, I can book you an appointment with someone to help you find a job, when are you free?”

“Well, since losing my old job, I have a lot more time on hands.”

“Of course.” Din looked at the computer trying to find someone available within the next week to help Corin. He frowned slightly when he realised, he was the only one with an availability. “I’ve got a free spot in two days at 3pm if that fits?”

“Yes, sounds good, thank you.” When Corin smiled, Din felt strangely happy. It gave him he strange fluttery sensation.


	3. Chapter 3

Din lay face down on his couch, replaying the events of the day in his head. His best friend, Cara was sitting at the kitchen table sharpening her knives, Ad'ika watching on in fascination.  
“C’mon, I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” Cara said, looking over at her friend.  
Din groaned into the couch before pushing himself up to glare at his friend. “No, I only yelled at him after he was fired, the slammed the door in his face when he tried to apologise. And can you not do that in front of the kid?”  
Cara stared at him for a second, but put the knives away. “I’m sure everything will be fine, and he’ll understand when he finds out you have a son.”  
“That’s if he ever finds out, and besides, you don’t understand, you and Omera got along immediately.”  
“Yeah, after we met at grief counselling when my sister and her husband were killed serving, and after she called me by my sister’s name. But you know, nothing awkward at all.”  
Din groaned a face planted back into the couch again.  
Cara looked down at the toddler sitting opposite her. “Your dad really is hopeless.”  
Ad'ika merely giggled in return. 

The day came for the appointment and Din was no more prepared to face his handsome neighbour than he was when the appointment was mad. He merely sat at his desk, panicking slightly. 

Corin was sure to be up early the day of his appointment. He made sure to wear his best shirt and slacks, and polished his boots. He arrived 10 minutes early and waited patiently for him to be called. 

Whilst waiting, Corin made sure to organise all his papers, including his latest resume, army records, and all of his identification.  
Corin was so engrossed in his thoughts that he jumped slightly when a familiar voice called his name.

“I didn’t know it was you I’d be working with.” He stated.

“I told you I had an appointment today, I thought it was obvious.”

The consultation went as well as it could, given that Corin’s last job was with a company that was closed due to illegal activities, never mind that the man himself had nothing to do with the incidents. None-the-less, Din was confident he could at least get his neighbour a job a bouncer, or even a firefighter, if nothing else. He was more than qualified after all. 

Din was considering the food in his fridge, he hadn’t had time to go shopping for a few days, and there wasn’t much to choose from.

A knock at the door brought him out if his contemplation. 

Opening it, he found his neighbour grinning shyly on the other side, holding a container.

“Hey, I made some more soup and thought I’d offer you some more.” Corin grinned at the other man.

Din stared at his neighbour and the food in his hands. “ah, thanks, do you want to come in?”

“Are you sure? I mean I wouldn’t want to be intruding or anything and-"

“I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t sure.” Was the deadpan reply. 

“Right, of course, sorry.” Dun couldn’t help but appreciate the way Corin’s face turned bright red with his comment. 

Walking into the apartment, Corin took everything in, it was the same as his apartment, except there was what appeared to be children’s toys everywhere, with cartoons playing in the tv. “You have kids?” He asked.

“Oh, yeah, sorta, I adopted him a few months ago after his mum died,” Din replied, picking up a small child from in front of the TV. “This is Ad'ika, Ad'ika, this is Corin, be nice.”

Ad'ika giggled and made grabbing hands at the stranger. Dun rolled his eyes, but passed his son over to the other man, showing him the correct way to hold the toddler. “He’s adorable, how old?”

“19 months, and he’s a little rat bag. Can you watch him whilst I prepare this?” Din held up the container, though he was nervous about leaving Ad’ika with a near stranger, he knew Corin could be trusted, he had gone through his background personally in attempt to find him the best job. 

“Ah, sure, that sounds ok.” Though he tried to sound confident, Corin couldn’t help but be nervous, he had joined the army as soon as he was old enough, and had never been around such a young child, let alone been responsible for them. Before he could say anything, Din's back was turned and the other man was collecting bowls and utensils. “Well, looks like it’s just the two of us for now then.” Ad’ika giggled again blinking large brown eyes up at his new friend. 

Dinner ended up being a pleasant, if messy, affair. Ad'ika managed to get soup on almost everything, thankfully, it had cooled enough that it didn’t burn when it came in contact with skin, but the mess was still extensive. Corin couldn’t help but laugh at the child’s attempt at feeding himself. “Why don’t you help him with that?” He asked 

Din merely shrugged, “Kid has to learn somehow.” He hesitated for a second before continuing, “Thank you for this, and the soup from the other day. I’m sorry I slammed the door in your face, Ad'ika had gotten into something he shouldn’t have, and I didn’t know you at that point.”

Corin smiled slightly, “It’s fine, I understand, though I admit I was a little confused initially.”

Din refused to make eye contact with his neighbour, instead busying himself with cleaning up the dishing and putting them in sink before grabbing a damp cloth to wipe down the table. 

“Well, you look like you’re gonna have to give the kid a bath, so I’m gonna get going, thanks for this though, it was nice eating with someone other than myself for a change."

Din waved at his neighbour, trying to hide the blush decorating his face.


	4. Chapter 4

It became a habit, at least once a week Corin would stop by with whatever he had cooked that night and the pair would eat together with Ad’ika, making small talk about their weeks. After dinner, Corin would find a movie for them all to watch whilst Din took the toddler for his bath. It was starting to become more common that three would fall asleep on each other whilst a movie played in the background. Din was starting to forget what life was like before the other man.

“So, I hear you have a new boyfriend,” Omera said during their monthly dinner.

Din glared at Cara who merely grinned at him. “He’s not my boyfriend, he lives down the hall and he was my client.”

“So, you moping on the couch about him was you just being concerned about a friend? Cause I was there when you had that breakdown about how you met him. I also know for a fact you feel comfortable enough to let him babysit Ad’ika, and you don’t even let me, your life-long friend, babysit.” Cara was still grinning at her friend as she spoke.

“You know full well why I don’t let you baby sit, and besides, Ad’ika likes him and he lives close by.”

“Of course, that’s all it is, nothing el- Hey, don’t flick your food at me.”

Ad’ika, having seen what his father had done, went to copy him, but was, thankfully, less successful.

“ _No, Abuela, I understand, I just, with my job._ ”

“ _Mijo, it’s not for another three months, I’m sure you can find the time, everyone will be there, it’ll be so nice to see you again. And maybe we can help you find someone at last, it’s not good for child to have only one parent_.”

Din groaned, “ _Abuela, I’ve said this before, I don’t need anyone to help with Ad’ika, Cara and Omera help just fine. Besides, I don’t have time for a relationship._ ”

“ _We all have time when it comes to love Mijo. I have to go; your Mama wants to talk to me. I’ll see you in three month, te quiero, Mijo._ ”

“ _Te quiero también, Abuela._ ”

Upon hanging up the phone, Din immediately face-planted into the couch, groaning once again. There was no way he was going to be able to get out of going to this birthday, and he couldn’t bare disappointing his abuela even if he could.

Din spent the next three days thinking about his predicament, trying to work out how he could get out of being set up with every eligible man not related to him at his Abuela’s birthday.

It was Din’s day off and he was spread on the couch with nothing to do, Ad’ika being at childcare to give him some time to himself. It was only now that he wasn’t here that Din truly realised how much time the small child took up, and how much he come to love the little brat.

Lying there, staring at the ceiling Din came to the realisation about what he could do about a date. Corin. He could ask Corin to come with him, pretend to be his boyfriend for a few days, then, in a few months, he’ll reveal that they had broken up. It was perfect. All he had to do was convince his neighbour to do it.

Din immediately jumped off the couch and practically ran to Corin’s door and started knocking. It was a few moments before Corin answered, rubbing his eyes and yawning.  
“Din? Do you know what time it is?” Corin asked through his yawn.

Din started at him for a second, “Around 1 in the afternoon? Why- oh, I woke you up, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, it’s ok, I had to get up soon anyway, do you want to come in. Let me go put on a shirt.”

Until that moment, Din had been so focused on his plan that he hadn’t even noticed Corin’s shirt, or lack thereof. Now he couldn’t stop staring at the other mans retreating back. The way defined muscles disappeared into low hung sweats. Looking at him, Din was starting to doubt his plan. How could he pretend to date Corin? Especially knowing it wasn’t real.

“So, did you want something? Or did you just drop by because you were bored? Today’s you’re day off, right? Where’s Ad’ika?” Din was startled out of his thoughts at the sudden noise. Corin had reappeared

“Ah, yeah, it is, I still took him to childcare today, give me some time to myself.” It wasn’t until he saw Corin’s bright red face that he fully realised the implications of what he said. “I don’t mean that way, I just¬–” Din cut himself off before he could dig himself any deeper, red covering most of his face.

Corin couldn’t help but laugh at the look on his friends face, “It’s ok, I understand, it must be hard, being a single dad. So, was there something I can help you with?”

Din watched as Corin moved around the kitchen, making himself coffee. The others laugh was incredible, and Din would give anything to hear it again.

“Din?”

“Huh, sorry?”

“I asked if there was anything you wanted?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry. My Abuela’s 90th is in a couple months, and I was wondering if you could come with me and pretend to be my boyfriend.” Din was blushing again, part of him can’t believe he actually managed to ask Corin, and that part was horrified.

Corin was shocked, of all the things, this wasn’t something he expected. “I… Um… Well… I mean…”

“It was a stupid idea, forget I said anything.” Din moved to leave and stew in his embarrassment for thinking Corin would actually agree to something so stupid, but a strong hand on his wrist stopped him.

“No, I want to do it, it’ll just be for a couple days right? I’m sure it’ll be fun.” The smile on Corin’s face was blinding, and Din could feel himself fall a bit more in love.


End file.
